Afternoon Tea at The Pelham

Afternoon Tea is possibly one of my favourite things to do in London
So last weekend I treated my Mum to the Champagne Afternoon Tea at The Peltham Hotel in South Kensington.

It's a very small, boutique kind of hotel right outside the station. In fact, if you didn't know it was there, you would probably walk straight past it.

We certainly did.

Inside, the staff greet you and whisk you off in the tinest of lifts down to the bar area.

It was very quiet when we went which suited us just fine.

The waiters promptly brought us the menu to choose from a selection of teas.

They were all fairly different types and ones I have never tried before.

One in particular caught me eye.....

'Skinny B*tch'
Naturally, I had to try that one.

I can't say it made me skinny but it did taste good.

We started with sandwiches whilst sipping on cold, light Champagne.

Moving on to my favourite course....scones with cream and jam.

It's surprising, given the size of the portions that afternoon tea makes you rather full.

So I was glad to see that the cake portions were a little daintier.

I would definitely recommend coming here for Afternoon Tea. It's not one of the most extravagant locations but Mum and I are on a bit of a mission to try as many as possible.

If you have any recommendations for places I should visit next for Afternoon Tea please do let me know. Alternatively, if you want any other suggestions for Afternoon Tea Hotels, again let me know in the comments. I'd be more than happy to tell you my favourite locations.

I think I could talk about tea all day. 

To Barcelona we go

After very little planning and a rather spontaneous decision, it wasn't long before we were boarding the plane to Barcelona. 
I'm keen this year to visit as many places as possible and to tick off new cities and places that I can explore. 
We arrived early on Thursday morning and checked into our hotel 'Vincci Gala'. 
If you want a nice hotel that is close to the centre of Barcelona then I can definitely recommend this one. It's very close to Las Ramblas but far enough away that the noise of the city won't bother you. 

Check out the hotel's website here.

First stop on the agenda was the Marcat de Boqueria. Regarded as one of Barcelona's best markets, found just off of the Las Rambles, it was of course, a good place to start. 
For anyone who knows how much I love sweets. You can imagine my delight when I saw this. 

The selection of food here was incredible, especially the fish section, that had some of the best array of seafood I have ever seen. 

Brightly coloured fruit lined the market stalls

And some of the biggest strawberries I've ever seen. 

Salted cod, apparently a delicacy in Barcelona. 

Shortly afterwards we found La Cathedral.

Not wanting to miss anything that Barcelona had to offer, we ventured inside. 

There is something about being inside a Cathedral, especially something as grand as this one. It felt eerie, quiet. We marvelled at the architecture before we got the lift up to the top of the Cathedral where we were treated to some of the views over Barcelona. 

(You'll have to wait until the next blog post to see some views that rival these).

With our feet back on the ground we continued to wander through the city. 

Stopping at the famous Casa Bastillo -designed by Gaudi. We didn't go inside but the detail of the building was just incredible. 
The colours, the detail, really rival a lot of buildings we have today in London. 

We had read a few reviews about restaurants to try whilst we were in Barcelona but before we made our way to the first one, we stopped off at 360. 

A roof top bar in the city centre with 360 degrees views of Barcelona. We got there just after the sun had set and we managed to get some great of pictures of the skyline. 

Unfortunately the bar itself wasn't actually open, maybe because it's too early on in the season but that did mean we had the place to ourselves. 

They even have a pool up here. 

I highly recommend coming here if you are in Barcelona in the summer. 

The bar is called B-Lounge and it's at the top of a hotel called Hotel Barcelo Raval.

Finally we made our way to Quimet i Quimet.
It was possibly one of the smallest restaurants I have been to, if you can actually call it that.
The tapas bar is mainly for standing only but that didn't bother us.

Once you have made it in the door (and trust me it gets very busy) order a glass of Sangria or Cava if you are looking to try some of the typical Spanish drinks and then peruse the menu.
We ordered everything!

A selection of seafood which included: Mussels, razor clams, cockles, squid, tuna and lots of other things too. We also tried, goats cheese with foie gras and salmon with yogurt and truffled honey.
(I couldn't find a website for the restaurant but you can find them on trip adviser and they also feature in the lonely planet guide books).

By the time we left, we were full and in need of a good night's sleep.
Not bad for our first day in Barcelona, wouldn't you say?

Brandshatch Spa Hotel

Last weekend Mum and I decided to slip away for a weekend of pampering and relaxation and so we went to the Brandshatch Hotel and Spa.

This was the entrance to the hotel which I thought was pretty. I love the big grand staircase that led up to the wooden door. It almost felt like a large house more than a hotel and it was definitely warm and inviting once you stepped inside. 

After checking in, we made our way to the pool area. Unfortunately I didn't take a pictures of this but here are a few others I did take. 

Our room was cosy and warm and I knew I couldn't wait to jump into that bed later.

The relaxation room at the Spa. 

Relaxing in my dressing gown, sipping tea and reading travelling magazines....

After a while, we slipped back to the room to get ready for dinner.

 Tea smoked duck for starter.

Steak for main.

And a melt in the middle chocolate pudding with salted caramel ice cream...Heaven.

I highly recommend a weekend at the Brandshatch Spa. You can find their website here
The staff are friendly, the food is great and if you are looking to find some peace and quiet, then you should definitely head on over. 

My only advice is, if you want any treatments book them early or as much in advance as you can. They can get very busy. 

Enjoy.